Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Pennsylvania
lacerated liver missed by ER Doctor
I wonder if the Emergency room was negligent, my son was in a car accident in March he went by ambulance to the emergency room complaing of pain, head, his nose, stomache, and leg pain, mri was done on his head and xrays on his leg he was sent home with crutches and a brace for his legand told his nose was not broke. aproximately 30 hrs later he was still complaining of excruciating pain in his stomache, he passed out in our hallway after taking a bath trying to releive the pain, my husband I both having been EMT's, thought surely the emergency room checked everything,took him back to the er to be safe but thinking he was just bruised and sore from the seatbelt they checked his blood pressure which was nearly non existent they did a mri and found he had a lacerated liver. He ended up having blood transfusions and spent 6 days in the ICU , The original er doctor came to his room the next day and aslo informed us that his nose was broken. My son quite possibly would have died had we not taken him back to the Emergency room. Was the Er DR. neglignet in not examining all my sons injuries.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: lacerated liver missed by ER Doctor
DISCLAIMER: Time limits apply to all Medical Malpractice cases. If you believe you have a case, you should seek in person consultation with an attorney as soon as possible or you will forever lose your right to sue.
From what you have stated, the E.R. doc was negligent. It is impossible to say with certainty as the duty to investigate the abdomen with a CT, MRI or DPL would depend on the history. In all probability. the same factors that CAUSED the liver laceration (mechanism of injury, physical signs) should have provided clues that should have CAUSED the E.R. doc to evaluate for possible abdominal trauma.
Negligence is only part of a med-mal case. The other question is how badly your son was damaged and if the injuries would have been avoided with early diagnosis. You have not stated if your son has suffered any permanent problems from the delayed diagnosis, i.e. in what way is your son worse off today as a result of the delay?
These are questions that are best discussed in person with an attorney who has med-mal experience. If you wish to pursue this further, I suggest you look to this list, the Yellow Pages or the Pennsylvania Bar Assoc. Lawyer Referral Service in Harrisburg to find an attorney to discuss this case. Also, follow the reponses to your query on this list, to see if another answering attorney is interested to discuss this case with you.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
